Casino foes in Milford rip slots 'downside'

By Susan Spencer, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Wednesday

Oct 30, 2013 at 5:00 AMOct 30, 2013 at 10:36 PM

MILFORD — With a referendum on a host agreement for a resort casino less than three weeks away, casino activists on both sides have ramped up their campaigns. At a forum hosted Wednesday by Casino-Free Milford, opponents underscored their message that a casino would hurt the town.

Voters will decide Nov. 19 whether the application by Crossroads LLC, doing business as Foxwoods Massachusetts, will move forward in its developers' quest to obtain the sole resort casino license the state will award for Eastern Massachusetts. Foxwoods has proposed a $1 billion, 980,000-square-foot resort casino north of Interstate 495 at Route 16.

The forum Wednesday at Upper Town Hall drew more than 200 people at the 7 p.m. start.

Describing the fight against well-heeled casino developers as a David and Goliath situation, author and former Connecticut congressman Robert Steele said, "What we need is to give a little time to David."

Mr. Steele, who wrote a novel, "The Curse: Big-Time Gambling's Seduction of a Small New England Town," based on Connecticut's experience with Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, said, "One has to wonder whether Massachusetts officials have looked at the downside of casinos or at what's been happening lately."

He recited increased crime statistics in towns surrounding casinos, including arrests for drunken driving and domestic violence, and a 400 percent increase in arrests for embezzlement, 10 times the national average, since casinos opened.

"The monopoly that has led to the casinos' success in Connecticut is rapidly ending," Mr. Steele said. He noted that slots revenue was down 32 percent as a result of the slow economy and increasing gambling competition from Rhode Island, New York, Maine and soon from Massachusetts.

Thomas Larkin, a psychologist who works in the Massachusetts prison system, told the audience, "The social costs of gambling easily exceed the cost of drug abuse."

He said 21 percent of active gamblers, versus 7 percent of non-gamblers, have been incarcerated.

"Most people who gamble don't have a problem. But here's the key point: They don't lose very much," Mr. Larkin said. Twenty percent of gamblers, those who have gambling addiction or problems, account for 80 percent of casino revenue.

Finance Committee member and lawyer David Morganelli took issue with the host community agreement's lack of a secured guarantee that the town would receive the $25 million to $30 million in annual revenue, in case casino revenues declined.

He said that even if the full revenue is received and 25 percent of it is applied to property taxes, the average household tax bill would drop less than $500 a year.

Mr. Morganelli cautioned against the town "putting all its eggs in one basket" by counting on one taxpayer, the casino, for roughly a third of its tax revenue.

Former School Committee member Jose Costa spoke about Foxwoods' previous failed partnerships for casinos in Philadelphia and Kansas, where licenses were rescinded and taxes went unpaid when casino development didn't proceed as promised.

Michael Kaplan, head of the pro-casino group Citizens for Milford's Future, one of a handful of casino supporters in attendance, said, "A balanced forum to obtain true facts would have been more appropriate."

He said the $25 million was guaranteed. "It's in the contract," he said. "It's not facts when you present just one side."

Mr. Morganelli responded that the guarantee was not secured and couldn't be enforced.

The host community agreement specifies that Foxwoods would pay the town $33.1 million up front and approximately $35 million annually, according to the election warrant. Foxwoods would use its best efforts to create at least 3,000 construction jobs and 3,500 permanent jobs.

Among other commitments, Foxwoods would fund a new highway interchange from Interstate 495 to Route 16 and traffic improvements at seven intersections; provide upgrades to the water production system; and extend public sewers to residences in East Milford.

In pro-casino activity, Foxwoods announced yesterday a site visit and barbecue from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 2, with parking at the Milford Stone Co. property, 429 E. Main St.

According to a Foxwoods news release, residents can get a firsthand look at the property and gain further understanding of how the planned project fits into the natural environment. Architects, project executives and engineers will be on hand to answer questions.

If the Milford referendum passes, voters at a special town meeting Dec. 9 would have to approve a zoning bylaw change to allow the final application to be filed with the state.

Competing Eastern Massachusetts resort casino proposals have been filed by Wynn Resorts in Everett and by Suffolk Downs, although the racetrack proposal's status is in flux after Caesars Entertainment pulled out last week.

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